In a strong session for McLaren, it was Lando Norris who secured fastest in FP3 at the 2026 Hunagrian Grand Prix.
Behind the Briton, Lewis Hamilton offered another strong session finishing in second, while Kimi Antonelli found his footing at the Hungaroring in third.
Green Flags for Final Practice
The lights were green on the final free practice of the weekend and it was Ferrari who looked to continue their Friday dominance. Claiming the fastest times in both Free Practices, the prancing horses look a step above the rest around the Hungaroring. After having Turn 2 named after him, Lewis Hamilton will be looking for a successful Saturday in Budapest.
With track temperatures soaring, it was Franco Colapinto who was first on track. The Argentinian, who crashed during FP2, was quick to clock a 1:21.747. Lance Stroll and Nico Hulkenburg were next on track, with most of the field continued with final set ups.
Ten minutes into the session, most of the field was on track. Oscar Piastri was next at the top of the timesheet, going two tenths quicker than Charles Leclerc in second. McLaren proved dominant early as Lando Norris was next to the top ahead of Isack Hadjar.
A Smoking Cadillac
With forty minutes left in the session, the first Red Flag was brought out. Sergio Perez had come to a stop at Turn 2. There was a constant stream of smoke exited the rear of his Cadillac. The Mexican suffered from an engine failure before his rear brakes caught alight. This weekend marks a turning point in the fight for the wooden spoon. Aston Martin brought 16 new upgrades to Hungary in an attempt to escape the back of the field with Cadillac.
With the Red Flag out and all the cars back in the pits, Cadillac had a mammoth task ahead of Qualifying. After almost ten minutes off track, the field was back out, with many now sporting soft tyres.
As times started to tumble, it was Hamilton who ended the lap 0.009s ahead of Norris. After a trip through the gravel, Hadjar’s next lap slotted him ahead of Piastri in third. After multiple laps affected by track limits, Kimi Antonelli moved up into second, 0.144s behind Leclerc who skyrocketed to the top of the timings.
Lindblad Stuck in the Garage
As 40 minutes ticked over, it was only Arvid Lindblad who had failed to exit the garage. The Rookie’s car was seen in the garage with its front wing removed. On the other side of the garage, Lawson had jumped himself up to ninth, making his case for the top midfield driver.
After missing out on FP1 and a slow start to FP2, Antonelli was back at the top of the timesheets. Edging out Piastri by two tenths, the Championship leader looked to gain confidence heading into Qualifying. However, two purple sectors from Norris send him 0.048s ahead of the Mercedes.
After stealing the fastest first and third sectors, Hamilton jump one and a half tenths ahead of the McLaren, setting Ferrari up to be fastest in each Free Practice. However the times kept dropping, less than a minute later, Norris clocked a 1:17.939, one tenth ahead of the seven time World Champion. While Antonelli was sitting in third, Russel was only able to manage sixth. The Briton, who suffered a DNF in Belgium, will be looking to improve in Qualifying.
Qualifying Preparation in Full Swing
With only five minutes left in the session, the drivers were on the hunt for the final Qualifying and Race preparation. Sitting in second, Hamilton was next around the Hungaroring, however, he was unable to improve on his earlier lap. With both McLarens and Antonelli back in the pits, Leclerc was one of the final drivers to attempt to go fastest.
After over fifty five minutes in the pits, Lindblad was finally out on track and looked to find pace. After finishing 14th after his first flying lap, the Racing Bulls rookie then jumped up to 13th, splitting the Alpine duo.
With the checkered flag flying, it was Norris who secured fastest in FP3 at the 2026 Hunagrian Grand Prix. Behind, Lewis Hamilton slotted into second after another strong session, while Kimi Antonelli finished in third.
Ferrari’s Leclerc finished in fourth as the drivers relined up for practice starts. Piastri edged out Russell for fifth, while Verstappen led the Red Bull duo in seventh and eighth. It was Lawson and Hulkenburg who rounded out the top ten, ahead of Audi teammate Bortoleto. Aston Martin had one of the better performances of the season, with Fernando Alonso leading Stroll in 17th and 18th, while Williams struggled in 20th and 21st.
Formula 1 returns this afternoon for Qualifying at 4pm local time (GMT-2) ahead of the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix tomorrow at 3pm.
Feature Image Credit: Formula 1